A Republican candidate in a race that could decide control of the US Senate made disparaging comments about Native Americans at campaign fundraising events, according to recordings disclosed in local media.
Tim Sheehy, a wealthy cattle rancher who has been endorsed by Donald Trump in his bid to become senator for Montana, made the remarks repeatedly at a series of gatherings where he boasted of cultivating ties and bonding with members of the Crow Reservation, the official home of the Indigenous Crow tribe.
In one clip, Sheehy says he ropes and brands cattle with Crow members and calls it “a great way to bond with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8am”.
In another recording, he says: “ I was actually at the Crow Res and if you want a tough crowd … you miss that double heel shot, there’s a Coors Light can on the side of your head.”
The references to a Coors Light can being thrown were recorded at three different gatherings, according to the Char-Koosta News, which covers the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. On one occasion, Sheehy says the flying cans are a sign of whether Crow members “like you or not”.
Each time, the comments were greeted by audience laughter, according to the recordings.
The outlet reported that it was still trying to establish the recordings’ authenticity but identified the date and place of two of the fundraisers, which occurred in November last year.
The Guardian has contacted Sheehy’s campaign for comment.
Sheehy, 37, a former Navy Seal who moved to Montana 10 years ago, is trying to unseat the Democratic Senate incumbent Jon Tester. The contest is viewed as potentially crucial to the Republican quest to retake control of the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-49 majority.
Revelation of his comments could undermine his efforts. Indigenous tribes make up 6% of the population of Montana, which is home to seven reservations and 12 tribes. Native groups have accused both Democrats and Republicans of ignoring the basic needs of reservations.
Polls show the two parties’ candidates locked in a tight race, with the most recent aggregate of 13 voter surveys published by the Hill giving Sheehy a 3.5% lead in a state that trends heavily Republican.
Tester, a moderate and native-born Montanan who skipped last month’s Democratic national convention to focus on defending the seat he has held for 18 years, has tried to paint Sheehy – who has been, in part, bankrolling his own campaign – as a wealthy outsider.
The GOP candidate’s comments about Crow members are seen as particularly embarrassing because the tribe has been seen as vociferously pro-Trump. Native Americans have been a key voter bloc for Tester in his three previous successful campaigns but he has been warned that their support is not guaranteed.
Calvin Lime, who lives on another Indigenous reservation in the state, called Sheehy’s comments “a slap in the face” to Crow members.
“For them to bring him there, work with him, they’re happy, they’re promoting him, but behind closed doors they’re the drunken Indian,” he told the New York Times. “Behind closed doors, you’re actually getting looked at as a lesser-than.”
The Crow Reservation is located across parts of three different counties in southern Montana and has a population of about 7,900.
News of Sheehy’s comments is not the first potentially damaging episode of his campaign. Last year, he was forced on the defensive after sexist and racist Facebook posts allegedly written by him came to light.
Insiders said the posts – made between 2006 and 2008 and since taken down – were “full of questionable photos” and featured “lewd photos of women, a caricature of Middle Eastern people and homoerotic jokes”.
